Page:The Relations Tolstoy.pdf/31

 also in the sexual question. But men of an un-Christian spirit desire the definition of forms. The Church marriage, which has nothing Christian in it, has been invented for them. In sexual intercourse as well as in other things -violence, anger, one cannot and should not lower the ideal, nor distort it. But this is what ecclesiasts have done in relation to marriage.

Owing to not understanding the spirit of Christianity, men are generally divided into Christians and not Christians. The crudest division consists in regarding the baptized as Christians; but the practice of calling a man who is living a pure family life founded on the teaching of Christ, who is not a murderer and so forth, of calling him a Christian in contradistinction to these who live otherwise, although less crude is also incorrect. In Christianity there is no live dividing he Christian from the non-Christian. There is the light, the ideal, Jesus; and there is darkness, the animal. And -advance in the name of Jesus towards Jesus in this way! So also in the relations of the sexes, the ideal is chastity, complete, perfect. A man who is serving God can desire to marry as little as to get drunk. But on the way towards chastity there are various stages, and the only thing one can say to those who want an answer to the question whether they shall marry or not, is, "if you do not see the ideal of chastity, do not feel the desire to surrender to it, then advance towards chastity (without knowing it yourselves) through the unchaste way of marriage." As I, being of tall stature, and seeing a distant building before me, cannot point it out to the short companion accompanying me, but must show him some other and nearer projection in the way, so honest marriage, for those who do not see the ideal of chastity, is an indication of this kind. But though